The Daily Mail says City have raided Wenger's team for four players since the Abu Dhabi takeover and have an eye on Van Persie as a replacement for rebel striker Carlos Tevez, possibly in January.

They know the Arsenal captain has less than two years on his Emirates contract and has confirmed he has no plans to discuss a new deal before the end of the season.

"Robin is under contract until 2013," said the Arsenal boss, still smarting at the manner of Samir Nasri's move to the Etihad Stadium.

"Why should we sell players in January? Man City already has problems because they have too many strikers. They pay half the league for them to play somewhere. Why should they want to buy strikers? It's difficult to understand."